Watch our baby grow!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

My good friend Emily, who is an incredibly talented photographer, shot some maternity photos of me in January. Despite her talent, she couldn't do anything about my bad hair day! :) Still, I know I'll always treasure these pre-Abby photos. Here are my favorites... I really wanted a shot of Eli giving Abby a kiss. We had made a little game of it at home, and he loved it. Of course, once we were standing in front of a camera, it was a no-go!

I know I haven't been a great blogger lately...for the record, I'm not just being lazy. A few weeks ago, after being sick the entire month of February, I managed to dislocate a rib coughing (yes, really!). Let me tell you, that is a painful injury! Typically they would just pop the rib back into place, instantly relieving the pain. However, because of the location of the rib and its proximity to Abby, they weren't able to do that. I am SO glad to say that the pain has diminished significantly with a combination of medication, physical therapy, and acupuncture. (Side-note, a huge THANK YOU to Joe, a good friend of ours and an amazing Physical Therapist, for all of your help). I have my third acupuncture appointment on Thursday, and the acupuncturist is confident that I'll be pain free after that treatment. I sure hope he's right! So, all that to say sorry for the lack of posting recently. Of course, I can't make any promises that I'll do much better over the next couple of weeks/months!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

With all the sunshine we've been enjoying and Ryan's new freedom on Saturdays with basketball season being over, we had to head to the zoo! Just the day before we went, a new monkey escaped from its exhibit. Fortunately Eli was content playing with the "pretend monkeys" that greet visitors at the entrance! It was a really great day together as a family. Eli had a really fantastic day, due in part to the fact that we've been home-bound with nasty colds most of the month. We also spent some time exploring parts of the zoo we haven't really spent time in before, which was a lot of fun. Eli's two new favorite areas are the Habitat Discovery Loop and the Zoomazium. The HDL is a really cool little trail through a wooded area where they've created kid-sized versions of various animal habitats. There's a bird's nest, turtle shells, burrows, spider webs, etc. that kids can climb in, around, on, and through. There are also a couple of slides...I'm assuming these are just for fun, and not some animal's actual living quarters! :) We also hit the Zoomazium, the zoo's indoor play area for little ones. Eli found an even bigger slide here, and spent the rest of our visit climbing up the "boulder" to slide down this fast, curvy slide. He had a blast! As usual, one of the highlights of Eli's day was "riding on Dada" - he didn't stop saying "wheee!" from the Zoomazium (at the back of the zoo) all the way to the car. He was also delighted to see the peacock on our way out; he remembered seeing it on our way in during our last visit to the zoo and had been looking for it throughout our visit.

Eli's cameos on Emily's blog

Hello trouble!

Okay, so in reality the t-shirt isn't very appropriate for our mellow-mannered Eli, but it's still cute! Eli had a great time hanging out at Dada's track meet the other day. He likes to watch the "grirls runnin" (and no, those aren't typos!).

Favorite Photo

This picture was taken by the father of one of Ryan's basketball players back in December. Needless to say, it is currently my favorite photo! Way to melt a mommy's heart!

Ta Da!

This little boy loves his Dada, and wants to be just like him...right down to the clothes. He often chooses his clothes based on which are most like Dada's, and this day just decided to stick with Dada's own clothes!

Neigh Neigh

Eli gave all new meaning to the term "bareback riding" after his bath last night. He thought it was pretty hilarious!

Eli the tool man

Our friends down the street gave Eli this great Bob the Builder tool belt and construction hat set for Christmas. Needless to say, it's a new favorite! You rarely see him without pliers in his hand these days. :)

Christmas joy!

Eli had a great Christmas...and that smile sure made our day!

Can I color this?

Two of Eli's favorite activities: coloring and unzipping pajamas. On this particular morning while coloring and unzipping his pajamas, he became quite interested in his belly button.

I thought we cut that hair!

The above caption is actually what Ryan said when he walked in and saw our little mohawk man. Needless to say, bathtime is one of Eli's favorite times!

Whoa! Where did my hair go?

Yay, dough!

Who needs Play-Doh when you can have real pizza dough? Eli wasn't sure about the strange stuff he was given to play with during our dinner at Frankie's restaurant at first, but after awhile he got into it! Oh, and look at those long, curly locks!!

Perfect Fall Photo

I have a question!

While Eli was "reading" his book about fossils, he suddenly looked up and raised his hand, just like a student with a question! What a cutie!

Hay Ride

Our visit to Jubilee Farm included a wagon ride to their pumpkin patch. Eli's favorite part? The tractor pulling the wagon, of course!

Family fun in Moclips

We all love the beach! The four of us (you can barely see Zoe at the bottom of the pic) spent three days on the WA coast to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary. It was a perfect getaway!

A boy and his bike...

Our neighbor, whose son is about to turn 4, passed on a great little trike to Eli. He absolutely loves his new wheels!

Blackberry Boy

Eli's favorite summertime snack!

Dada!

Every time Eli sees a lawn mower, he says "Dada!" This one actually belongs to our neighbors. :)